On my most recent trip to Hawaii, I’d purchased a gift certificate from AMC Theaters for one of my friends there. Come to find out, there are NO AMC Theaters in the Hawaiian Islands, only Regal and Consolidated. I’ve never even heard of Consolidated, but those are the main movie theaters in Hawaii. Thus, I, in fact, ended up buying MYSELF some AMC movie tickets! Another friend gave me a gift certificate from AMC Theaters for a Christmas present, so guess what I’ve been doing lately? You guessed it – going to movies.
The first one I saw using the AMC certificate was “Out of the Furnace.” That movie, starring Christian Bale and Woody Harrelson, was about a guy (Christian Bale) whose younger brother (who was also an army vet) disappeared while boxing in an underground circuit run by Woody Harrelson. The movie was slow and not nearly as interesting as I’d hoped.
Next up was “American Hustle” with Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale, Amy Adams and Bradley Cooper. The premise didn’t exactly appeal to me – a con man (Christian Bale) and his partner (Amy Adams) who are forced to work with a crazy FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) in an effort to bring down some kingpins. The con man’s wife (Jennifer Lawrence) might unknowingly give everything away. This movie was MUCH better than I’d anticipated with a little twist at the end. The cast was superb.
The draw for me to see “Lone Survivor” was Mark Wahlberg. He’s actually a very good actor in many different genres. The movie was good, but didn’t blow me away. What bothered me most was the actual/real survivor of that battle. Hearing him describe what he went through, all in an effort to save his “brothers” and himself kind of got on my nerves. Who was really there to see what happened other than himself, since he was the lone survivor? My intentions are not to downplay the military in any way, as all 3 of my brothers were in the military, though none of them saw battle. Yet something about the real survivor irks me in some way; something about him doesn’t seem real or earnest to me. However, go see the movie by all means. It’s worth the cost of admission. Since it states that the movie is “based” on actual events, I thought the part about the villagers helping him was probably not true. Finding out that it WAS true was the best part!
I went to see “47 Ronin” out of sheer boredom. Unlike Mark Wahlberg, I do NOT think Keanu Reeves is a good actor across many different genres. In my opinion, he’s been good in a few movies, but mostly he’s mediocre to me. “47 Ronin” was rather cheesy, yet enjoyable. I certainly enjoyed it more than that stupid “Samurai” movie that Tom Cruise was in. Also, I learned the meaning of “ronin” and found out that the 47 ronin were actual men defending their master’s honor.
This past weekend I went to see two foreign films, but neither were at an AMC theater. On Friday night I went to see “La Grande Belleza,” which had been either the opening or closing film of the Italian Film Festival back in November. It was the movie I’d most wanted to see at that festival, but was unable to. There was only one showing, which just happened to coincide with the day that I was going to see Cirque du Soleil’s “Amaluna” with a friend. Toni Servillo stars as Jep, a novelist celebrating his 65th birthday. He wrote one novel at least 30 years ago and lived off of that glory ever since. He partyed and seduced his way through Rome in his following years. His 65th birthday coincided with an event that made him very reflective of his life. Parts of the movie were funny and other parts were sad. The cinematography was gorgeous. His reflections on his life made me very nostalgic about mine. (Hey, I partyed and seduced my way through Los Angeles in the 80’s and early 90’s, but don’t regret any of it!) I absolutely loved the movie, even though it made me sad on my way home. I actually would like to see the movie again. Seeing those scenes of Rome made me want to go back. I’ve been to Rome three times, but was never a huge fan. The first time, I hated it. The second time, I sort of liked it. On my third trip, I based myself in Rome for 9 straight days to figure out my true feelings. I left realizing that I like parts of Rome and certain things about Rome very much, yet will always choose to go to either Venice or Florence over Rome, if given the option. Even so, all the scenes of the nuns brought back memories of my time in Rome; seeing nuns in Trastevere, waiting for the bus, etc. The opening scenes of the Janiculum reminded me of the afternoon that I walked the Aventine Hill, one of my favorite days. I loved that walk on that beautiful afternoon. At the top of the hill, you can see the dome of St. Peter’s framed perfectly through the keyhole of a door. I never believed it until I saw it; so perfect. Of course, my camera couldn’t get the shot, which will make a good excuse for a return trip. I was also reminded of a hot Sunday morning when I tied my hair up, put on a light top, a skirt, some slippers and, rather than crossing any of the bridges, walked the perimeter of Rome, all along the Tiber River, to get to Porta Portese; another of my favorite days there. “La Grande Belleza” showed me the beauty of Rome again and makes me want to walk those streets again with a new perspective.
St. Peter’s Dome Through the Knights of Malta Keyhole
This afternoon’s movie was “Blue is the Warmest Color,” France’s winner of the Palme d’Or. It’s the story of a young high school girl who falls for an older lesbian. They have an intense and passionate relationship, evidenced by the various long, explicit sex scenes! The movie is well acted, though I honestly don’t find much attractive about the actress who plays the high school girl. Bear in mind if you’re going to see the movie, that it’s basically 3 hours long! Of course, it ends in that quizzical French way (i.e. you ask “Is that it?”) So many French movies seem to leave unanswered questions at the end.
That leaves me with a few more AMC movies to see. If something good starts this week, you’ll be getting an update soon!